Pictorial: For The Eyeshadow Challenged - Fresh Look For Summer

There is something about summer days that always has me longing for a fresh-faced glow. I usually turn towards peachy colors, and earthy pinks; nude lips are also a staple. I like my summer day-time makeup to be clean, and uber feminine.

I would definitely consider myself to be challenged in the makeup department, as I have far more tools than I know what to do with, as well as colors I am afraid to experiment with. Over the years, I have acquired little tips and tricks that takes the fuss out of "making face" and offers consistent results all the time.

Because I am not the best at blending, I find it easiest for me to work with no more than 2 colors. I always use a lighter color in the inner lid, and a darker complimenting color on the outer lid to add a bit more depth to my eyes. During the day, I usually like to skip the black eyeliner [as it has a tendency to look harsh sometimes] and instead opt for more of a dark shimmery brown liner.

Some of you may experience more of an "ashy look" when you apply your eyeshadow, and to remedy that, I would recommend using a NYX Eyeshadow pencil like the ones illustrated in the tutorial as they tend to really make eyeshadow colors pop against darker skin tones. Just apply the Eyeshadow pencil over your base, then pack on your eyeshadow of choice - If you are going to use a NYX Eyeshadow pencil, try to pick a color that is in the same family as your eyeshadow. These pencils are under FIVE DOLLARS so go ahead and splurge a little, take a few different colors home with you, and start to experiment.

Here are the tools you will need to create this look:

Nars Blade Runner Quad [We are going to use the deep rusty red color]
Nars Cairo Quad 
NYX Rust Eyeshadow Pencil
NYX Yogurt Eyeshadow Pencil

I only used two out of three of these brushes; The 217 & the 242. I use the 242 for packing on the color, and the 217 for blending out the color. These are pretty much the only two brushes I ever use. I only use the 219 pencil brush when I want to make a "cat eye", and for sweeping color under the waterline. Using some sort of eyeshadow base is key if you want a seamless crease free lid, and color that lasts almost all day. Urban Decay Primer Potion just happens to be my favorite.

1. First start off by applying your eyeshadow base of choice all over your lids, and allow to sit for a few minutes until dry.

2. Next take the Yogurt NYX pencil, and apply it from the inner corner, stopping just short of the middle of your eyelid

3. Take the rust pencil, and start from the middle of the eyelid, sweeping the color back to the end of your lid

4. Now take your 242 and begin to pack Cairo on top of the Yogurt color

5. With the same brush, pack on the dark rosey color from the Nars Blade Runner quad on top of the Rust color

6. Now it's time to BLEND

Starting in the center of your lid, take your 217 brush [note: my 217 brush had dark eyeshadow on it so I used another brush similar to the 217] and begin to blend in an outward motion [away from the inner eye].

Make sure to blend the crease area by making "windshield wiper" like motions to blend any harsh line where your lid and crease meet. I do not add any makeup to my blending brush, I am just using the brush to blend out the lines. I never allow the blending brush to touch the center of my eyelid, as I don't want any of the darker color there. I don't mind blending the darker color ABOVE the center of the lid along the crease line, but not on the actual lid. I find the colors get muddy if I blend them all together.

Make sure you blend out [towards the outer edge of the eye] -

7. Now you can add some eyeliner, mascara and lip color if you like; since this is a daytime look, I used a softer eyeliner pencil, a pink nude gloss, and more of a natural mascara.

Sephora Eyeliner Pencil in Glitter Brown
Benefit Bad Gal Lash Mascara
Nars Giza Lip Gloss